Oklahoma City, OK – Senior Scott Sakaguchi advances further through the consolation rounds, working his way through the back side of the bracket and looking to the third place match at the end of the road.

With five wrestlers in this morning’s matches, Sakaguchi is the only Oregon State wrestler to advance to Session IV this evening. The Beavers currently sit in 22nd place with 14.5 points heading into Session IV.

Oregon State’s No. 14 Sakaguchi was the lone Beaver to wrestle in the championship rounds on Friday morning, matching up against Oklahoma State’s No. 11 Josh Kindig. In the first round, Kindig grabbed a takedown, followed by a reversal from Sakaguchi, tying the pair at two going into the second. By the third period, Kindig had jumped out to a 5-3 lead, but Sakauchi answered with a takedown, tying the score at five. Oklahoma State had riding time on their side, so Sakaguchi gave the escape in hopes to follow it up with a takedown, but it was Kindig who collected the 7-5 decision. Sakaguchi will wrestle Edinboro’s No. 8 David Habat in the consolation rounds this evening.

The Beavers had four wrestlers set to compete in the consolation rounds. First up at 157, was No. 8 RJ Pena facing Rutgers’ Anthony Perrotti. Perrotti took a quick shot right out of the gate, catching Pena in a tough position, and earned a fall within the first minute. With that result, Pena’s final collegiate tournament comes to an end. Pena finishes his college career with 116 wins, moving him into 14th on OSU’s All-Time Career Wins list. In addition, his career 57 pins ties him for fourth with Marty Ryan (177, 1987-91) on OSU’s All-Time Career Pins list.

At 174, Joe Latham took to the mat to face Northern Illinois’ Cody Caldwell. Latham started the match hot with a 4-1 lead in the first period. Moving into the second, Latham pushed his lead to 6-2, while also accruing 1:44 of riding time heading into the third. With some back and forth in the final round, Latham tallied the 10-5 decision to advance to the next consolation match, where he would face Illinois’ Tony Dallago.

After a brief break, Latham and Dallago hit the mat. Dallago took the first shot and was able force Latham into a tough position, and eventually earned the fall in just under a minute. With that, Latham’s tournament effectively comes to an end.

Oregon State’s Taylor Meeks (197) matched up against Wyoming’s Shane Woods, an opponent he has seen earlier this year. Woods claimed the first takedown, but Meeks responded with an escape and the score would remain 2-1 through the end of the second period. Early in the third, Meeks tallied an escape, tying the match at two, but Woods would eventually grab another takedown and top Meeks by a 5-3 decision with riding time. With that result, Meeks’ tournament comes to a stop.

At HWT, No. 16 Amarveer Dhesi faced off with Utah Valley’s No. 15 Adam Fager. Dhesi jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first period, and grabbed another takedown to extend his lead to 6-2 at the start of the third. Dhesi tallied three takedowns in the third and accrued riding time to earn a 13-4 major decision over Fager, advancing him to the next consolation match where he would face Boise State’s No. 8 J.T. Felix.

Dhesi and Felix have battle twice earlier this season, the edge going to Felix. Both wrestlers remained neutral for most of the first period with a little back and forth action. With under a minute left in the first, Felix took a hard shot, earning the takedown and an eventual fall at the 2:29 mark. With that, Dhesi’s first tournament experience comes to an end.